Smile
by maddy02erik
Summary: You never really know.


This is dedicated to everyone who reviewed my first story, namely Drunksonic, jin toshikazu, deathrosekitty, kiwi4me, Lamanth and strawberii-chan!

*****

**Smile**

You never really know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and no copyright infringement is intended

*****.

I walked gloomily down the empty street. It was only five o'clock, but the sky was full of clouds, turning everything dark and gray.

Dark and gray. That pretty much described my life. My family had just moved in, and today had been my first day in my new school. Here I was, walking down the unknown streets towards an even more unknown future.

It was a disaster from the very start. I forgot to set my alarm clock to the new time zone and woke up _really_ late. As if that wasn't enough, I got lost on the way to school, and first period was almost over by the time I finally arrived.

They had laughed when I came in. Awkwardly, I sat down, surrounded by a buzz of whispers and giggles.

"Look at his clothes." murmured one, "Where does he think he is? Military school?"

Laughter.

"Hey! New kid! How long did you spend doing your hair?"

"He must have gotten up at four in the morning to be only forty-five minutes late."

The teacher ignored them, and finished handing out the schedule. Seven hours a day. Two more than at my last school.

A few minutes later, the bell rang. The moment I walked out the door I was subject to shoves and jibes. Why all the fuss? I just got here a week ago, how was I supposed to know what to wear? Before dad's company went bankrupt, I had always worn a uniform to school. I thought that was what everyone wore.

Lunch time was no respite. The line into the cafeteria had been worthy of any Coldplay concert. Battered and bruised, I finally made it through, and was confronted with the scintillating decision: half-cooked rubber hamburger, or moldy lasagna fresh from the can.

Sitting alone in the corner, listening to the rain hammer against the walls and windows, I choked down as much as I could stand, then checked to see what class I had next. When I stood up, I was immediately confronted by and indignant cafeteria lady who told me that in this school, students put away their own dishes.

Somehow, I made it through the rest of the day. Now, I faced the prospect of going home. Dad would want to know how school had been, and I would lie, telling him it was great. I would probably invent some friends, and make fake phone calls to confirm imaginary dates. Dad had been very upset about having to move, and he had enough problems of his own to worry about.

I realized suddenly that I had gotten lost again. I stopped to try and get my bearings, and something hit me from behind. I spun around, and saw, sitting on the ground where she had fallen, was a girl. Her bag had burst open, and the sidewalk was spread with books and papers. Her pale gold hair was slightly mussed, and blew gently in the wind. She looked up at me with her clear blue eyes and smiled brilliantly.

"Sorry," she said cheerfully, "I'm such a klutz, I do that five or six times a day."

Disconcerted, I muttered my own apology, and bent down to help her gather up her things.

I recognized her. She had been in three of my classes, sitting in the back with a little circle of friends and admirers. I had watched her out of the corner of my eye, and been shoved against a locker for the privilege. Ino, her name was.

Our hands brushed as we both reached for the same book. She blushed.

"You're name is Shino, right?" She asked.

I nodded, more nervous in her presence than I had been the whole day. When had I told anybody my name?

I turned to gather several sheets that had flown out of a large, three ring binder. Seeing that she was busy gathering up the many-colored pens that had poured out of an overstuffed pencil case, I quickly glanced through them.

They were the doodles she had been doing in class. I was impressed. "You're a good artist." I commented, paging through them. Beautiful, detailed drawings of people, animals and flowers covered the pages.

Last, covering nearly half a page, was a remarkably lifelike sketch of … me, sitting in the cafeteria with a rain-streaked window in the background.

Seeing what I was looking at, she snapped the binder closed and, blushing furiously, stuffed it into her bag.

"Um.. those are just.." she mumbled.

"They're good." I said, certain that she must hear my pounding heart.

"Thank you," she murmured. Then, changing the subject, "Do you live up that way?" She pointed down the road we had been walking on.

Remembering the fact that I was lost I stood up. "Um.. actually…" I flushed, "I'm a bit lost. Do you know where Johnson Street is?"

She smiled again, her radiant smile, "That's where I live!" She exclaimed, "Will you walk me home? I know a good short cut. I can show you where it is, and then meet you there tomorrow morning."

For a moment, the clouds parted, and a small ray of sunlight filtered down through the trees.


End file.
